Interviews
A Guide To Interviewing
Glassdoor Team
Glassdoor Team | Author & Career Expert at Glassdoor | 18 Sept 2017
Hiring new staff is expensive. It costs in management time for interviews as well as the training of new recruits. Get your process wrong and you could face claims for unfair selection. Get it right and you'll recruit the best informed candidates.
Interviewing is a two way process.
In your search for the right hire, candidates will also be assessing if you are the right organisation for them to join.
It takes many different people, styles and a variety of skill sets to make up an effective team, so be open to the attributes that a range of people have to offer. Don’t fall into the trap of hiring people because they are the same as you.
The right process
- Set up an efficient procedure for outlining the job role, advertising the vacancy, processing applications, short-listing and documenting why you are taking people forward to interview and assessment stage, and those that you are going to reject. This will enable you to provide effective feedback to candidates at a later date.
- Operate within all legal guidelines and treat all candidates fairly.
- Train managers in interviewing skills.
- Have your list of questions, areas of competency and your scoring mechanism and use them consistently for all candidates.
- Go through applications and CVs and make notes / highlight areas that you wish to follow up with the candidate in the interview.
- Organise a professional, private space for interviews where you will not be disturbed.
- Assessments have their place in the recruitment process. Psychometrics and Assessment Centres can provide valuable additional information that can be used as part of the scoring process.
- Chose those that are relevant to the job and level of the position within your structure.
- Welcome the candidate, offer them a drink and help make them feel at ease.
- Introduce yourself and the panel members and outline the interview process, how long the interview will last and the role of the panel members.
- To help candidates control nerves, start by asking them to talk about an element on their CV. Talking about self allows people to relax more. Brief is the key word so you don’t lose half of your interview time on the introduction!
- A Competency Framework and questions are a great way of getting detail on a candidate’s actual experience.
- Ask supplementary questions to answers, so you ensure candidates have actually got the depth of experience you are looking for rather than someone that has simply read about what others have done.
- Make notes on the candidate's’ answers. Keep them accurate and factual.
- Highlight key elements in your notes as you go through the interview so you can score easily at the end.
- DO NOT write any personal or derogatory comments about candidates.
- When you have selected your candidate, make your offer.
- You may need to keep a second candidate on hold for a short time to ensure that your first choice accepts.
- Reject other candidates in a timely and professional manner.
- Offer feedback to unsuccessful candidates to help them understand why they have not been successful. This will help them in the future and also boost your brand.
- Use the results of the interview and assessment process to give your successful candidate feedback and use it as the basis for a development plan and objectives going forward.
Glassdoor Team
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Tags:Informed CandidateInterview Advice
